Traditional emergency medical information systems involve the use of paper and pen to collect information at an emergency vehicle. Collection of information in that manner results in several disadvantages. First, such systems are expensive because of the need for the manual data entry of the collected information. This is because the labor costs are increasing faster than other inputs. Moreover, to ensure correctness of the data entry, the emergency vehicle personnel may have to review the entered data.
Second, collection of information using a paper and pen results in a greater possibility of errors being introduced because of, for example, the risk of data entry personnel's inability to properly transcribe handwritten notes. Moreover, such handwritten notes may be lost thereby in complete loss of information collected at the emergency vehicle.
Third, errors in recording and transcribing information may expose the operator of the emergency vehicle to legal liability. Liability may also result, for example, where all of the appropriate information may not have been gathered. Further, illegible writing may result in wrong diagnosis and treatment by the downstream medical personnel.
Moreover, lack of electronic information also results in an inability to provide such critical information to downstream medical personnel. For example, an emergency vehicle that can not transmit paper based information may not be able to get this information to the hospital to which the emergency vehicle is headed, ahead of time.
Further, emergency personnel at an emergency vehicle also need to gather billing information. Such information is typically collected using pen and paper and sent via postal mail to a billing center. The billing information is then data entered and subsequently a bill may be sent via postal mail to the patient. Handling of billing information in this manner results in delays and errors. For example, services or medications administered to a patient may not have been recorded or coded properly resulting in billing for the wrong services or medications. For this reason, billing information is not gathered at the emergency vehicles.
Moreover, paper-based processing of the billing information further results in delays in processing the bills. These delays further impact the ability of a service provider, such as a city hospital to collect payments. Typically, such delays and errors in billing information may cost a city or a municipality millions of dollars in lost revenue.
Similarly paper-based systems to notify patients with outstanding bills result in low recovery of outstanding bills. Additionally, such systems are expensive to operate.
Accordingly, there is a need for improved systems and methods for collecting information at an emergency vehicle, including medical information and billing information.